1971: Beyond the shibboleths

The author has pulled off a notable feat by presenting new perspectives on a well-worn subject

There is an enormous body of work centred on the 1971 Indo-Pak War that led to the creation of Bangladesh. It has been sliced and diced multiple ways by retired soldiers, military historians, diplomats, political scientists, politicians and civilians of various descriptions.

The author has pulled off a notable feat by presenting new perspectives on this well-worn subject. He started with an advantage given that he’s a Bengali diplomat who was involved at the time, and afterwards, in the reconstruction of a war-shattered nation. Chandrashekhar Dasgupta has also delved through many records including archives at the Ministry of External Affairs,